Chapter Text
You shake as you watch the gruesome scene in front of you. The sights and sounds of meat being ripped from the bones is heavy in the air. A creature is hunched over the corpse of your bodyguard, using his teeth to tear the still warm body apart. The creature is dining on human flesh. The smell of blood hangs heavy in the night air. Bile rises in your throat as you watch in a horrified stunned silence. The events that had played out tonight keep running in your head.
You bid your family goodbye. You held each of them tightly for a long time. Your mother. Your father. Your big brother. You wished them all well. You are to be sent off to be married. Under normal circumstances a family would be proud and happy to see their daughter off to be married. But you aren’t a normal bride.
You’re an offering.
A day ago your father was almost murdered. He dared to venture into the the vale that was carved in the mountain. An old trade route that once bridged your family’s territory to the territory of a neighbouring town. That was until a demon made the mountain it’s territory. Apparently the demon had been there for many years, but was mostly dormant. So much so no one remembered him as a real creature. He was a legend. A myth. He didn’t bother humans so long as they didn’t bother them. That was until a hunting party of both towns collaborated in an attempt to murder the oni that lived on their mountain.
They lost horribly. Their bodies left in bloody heaps at the entrance of both villages. Ever since the demon has been much more hostile, killing anyone who dared to step foot in it’s territory. It’s a legend well known to everyone. Don’t go through the mountain unless you want to experience a most painful death. How quickly people remember these little details when recalling the fable of the mountain. You had no idea it was so violent until your mother told you the full story upon your engagement being announced.
Your father made that mistake. He ventured in, figuring the old stories of dead bodies and onis were nothing but old folk tales that elders told the children so that they didn’t get lost in the thick woods that cover the mountain. The predators up there could make a quick meal of a foolish baby but not a grown adult with a weapon. No one has traveled through the old vale in years and the additional time it takes to travel around it is absolutely ridiculous! It’s days rather than hours. He wouldn’t allow silly myths rule his town anymore.
So your father confidently went in, treading the old trade path like he owned it. He technically owned half of it, being the one of the most prominent families in the trade town he calls home he’s basically leader. He had business with his neighbour and didn’t want to spend the time it takes to go around. The stories of the great oni that lives in the mountain were only scary stories for children.... Right?
The elders were not paranoid after all. They warned him he was making a mistake. He should’ve heeded their words. A great demon does live on the mountain. He nearly beheaded your father upon first meeting.
“Pl-Please! Let me live! I’ll give you anything you want!” Your father begged.
“Anything?” The creature repeated.
From what your father described, the oni stood over him with an intense gaze. His size and stature made your father feel like an infant. Then the creature smiled. It was wicked and full of sharp teeth.
“I smell a young woman on you. You have a daughter.” Said the demon with his uncanny grin. “Bring her to me as a bride.”
Your father and the oni struck a deal. In exchange for a bride, the demon will allow not only your father to live but safe passage between the two towns in the mountain’s vale. It’s a good deal. Wonderful even.
So you left the only life you known with as much poise as you could muster. Your father tried to be nice about it. He tried to convince you that he’d come up with a different solution. A different woman to fool the oni. So you could stay in the company of humans and be married off to a good man in the other town.
It felt like a bad idea to lie or deceive the oni. If that creature already knew your scent then it’s not like you can avoid it. The oni would instantly know if it was being lied to. And the fate of the decoy would be a gruesome one. No one deserves that.
If being a sacrificial bride to a monster will help your people then you’ll do it. The years of poverty and struggle can be over. The longer trade route had taken its toll. Especially during winter. Winter is always so hard. It’s long away but it still haunts this village with it’s threat and death toll. The shorter route would be so life changing.
For the first time in your life you stepped into the mountain. The very place you were warded off from since you were a toddler to not go near. It felt wrong, as if you were defying your parent’s warnings and you were going to get your karma for it. The only comfort you had was your two bodyguards. Your father hired them just to make sure you made it safely. Although by how they reacted to the oni, they were hired for kill. The creature appeared only partway into the vale. He’s just as your father explained.
Tall, at least seven feet. Maybe even eight. With a wide fit frame. His loose ragged kimono left no doubt that he is all muscle. His skin is crimson. His hair is long, wild and an ethereal white. It trailed all the way to his feet and covered a fair bit of his face. When asked to leave you the bodyguards reacted with hostility.
One died instantly. A single hit from the demon had instantly killed the man. A single slash with long talon like nails had torn the man’s front completely open. The next tried god bless him. But the oni was inhuman in speed and strength. He grabbed the man by the neck and slammed him against a nearby tree.
You reacted. Your frozen limbs could move again. You cried out and ran to the beast. You grabbed his arm and begged. Seeing others get hurt so brutally is something you cannot stand. No one should die unnecessarily.
“Please! Let him go! I’ll go with you just please let him go!” You begged.
The demon faced you. Your breath was stolen as you got a good look at his face for the first time. It’s a manly face. It’s very human looking. Square in shape with a flat chin and wide jaw. Lips that had a more prominent to the lower and was wide. A straight arrow pointed nose. His eyes...
You couldn’t look away from his eyes. That’s where the human features ended and more demonic ones were there instead. They were identical almond shaped eyes that were sharp. The irises were a golden amber that were unlike anything you had seen before. The pupils a thin cat like oblong shape. Running from his under eyes to his jaw are thin black lines, as if he were crying ink. Above his eyes on his forehead are two horns that are the same colour as his skin. They are large. Like spearheads. He could kill someone with just those. They angle towards the sky and have the slightest of curves. His unruly bangs frame them at the base and flow around the sides of his face, where long pointed ears are mostly hidden behind.
Slowly the demon turned back to the bodyguard. His lips parted, revealing sharp pointed fangs among otherwise normal teeth.
“Tell your master that he’s done well. I will hold up my end of the deal since he held his.” The deep calm voice of the creature said. It sounded quite boggling in comparison to his harsh actions.
He relaxed his grip and the bodyguard booked it. The oni faced you fully. You stared into his uncanny eyes. They are calm and intelligent. If not for the shade and shape you could have been fooled into thinking you are staring at a lord. A man with high education and great poise about him. They’re observing you with a careful consideration. Yet you know... you are very aware that this is a monster. You are shivering with fear. This thing is terrifying! He grabbed your wrist and turned towards the sharp incline of the mountain slope. He began to walk towards it, grabbing the dead body along the way.
The walk was a blur. You stumbled up the mountain as you blindly followed the oni. The body in his other hand was being bumped and ruined along the way as they got dragged through the dirt. You don’t remember climbing into a house but before you knew it the familiar feeling of tatami was under your feet. The beast let you go and you fled to the corner. For in front of the sliding paper door was your captor, now consuming the body with gusto. The open door was making a perfect frame as the moon lit up the scene like a twisted painting.
The grotesque noises of wet tearing of meat and chewing grew quiet. Your heart leaps into your throat as the beast turns towards you. His amber gaze glows in the low cold moonlight. You tremble under his gaze. Your hands are gripping tight fistfuls of your kimono at your chest. He approached slowly, crawling on his hands and feet like an animal.
Is this it then? This monster is going to murder you. He’s going to eat you like he had to your poor bodyguard. You jump when his hand touched your leg. Your shaking gets worse. He’s warm to the touch but the sticky wetness of the blood on his hand was a grim reminder of what he was.
“What’s your name?” He asks.
You part your lips. You struggled to stammer a single syllable but do manage to say your name. He smiles and his hand ran up your leg to your knee.
“That’s pretty. It suits you.” He complimented you. “Call me Jiraiya.”
You don’t reply. You stare at him with wide fearful eyes. He’s bloody. The only real indication between his red skin and the blood was the shine. It stained Jiraiya’s mouth and chin. It ran down his neck and saturated his kimono. He smiles at you, which looks deranged and gruesome with the thick coating of red.
“I think you’ll like it here.”
You flinch when he leans his face towards you. Terrified and lightheaded from the horrible sights you witnessed, you pass out. If this monster plans on eating you, it would be better if you weren’t awake to watch it.